UKCCSRC 2022 Funding Call

1. Scope of Call

The UKCCSRC invites proposals for CCS research projects supporting the UK Government’s net-zero objectives that address but are not limited to the following:

• Supporting the Government’s net-zero objectives and the British Energy Security Strategy
• Address CCUS challenges raised in the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report
• Research linked to the priorities identified in the UKCCSRC industry and policy led ‘what are our research needs’ workshops
• Areas of research outside of the scope of the Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre, IDRIC (see https://idric.org/research-innovation/academic-research-projects/ for details of current IDRIC projects)
• Seed funding for a piece of work that could lead to responsive mode applications
• Industrial capture and sources of CO₂ that minimise competing for fossil fuels including BECCS, DACCS, Energy from waste and sustainable aviation fuels
• CCUS projects that address and consider the longevity of utilisation
• Work that can be used (e.g. a feasibility study) to establish a principle / understand the challenges for a larger bid to other sources of CCS funding later [Noting that bid preparation itself can’t be funded]

2. Call Process and Timeline

Key dates for the UKCCSRC 2022 Funding Call are:

• Open for submissions: 12^th May 2022
• Closed to submissions: 12^th July 2022, 1pm
• Decisions: 26^th August 2022 (or earlier)
• Start Dates: 1^st October 2022
• End Dates (no later than): 30^th June 2023

3. Funding

Up to £350K is available, but the UKCCSRC Board is not obliged to allocate all these funds during this call. Proposals are expected to be either:

• £10k (100% FEC) for small projects that could lead to bigger funding including collaborative work
• £30k (100% FEC) for proposals with no additional funding.
• £50k (100% FEC) for proposals that can obtain 20% (£10k) additional (cash) funding
• It is envisaged that £50k-£100k will be awarded to £10k projects
• £100k is ringfenced for Early Career Researcher (ECR) applicants (those still eligible for the EPSRC New Investigators Award)

Notes for Proposers:

• This call is for proposals to a fixed budget amount of either £10k, £30K or £50k (100% FEC)
• Costings should be submitted at 100% FEC using a SINGLE dummy JeS form and include only EPSRC-eligible costs
• Research organisations will be paid at 80% of FEC
• Invoices will need to be accompanied by the UKCCSRC breakdown of expenditure form
• No equipment purchase expenditure will be covered but applicants can request funds at reasonable UK academic researcher rates for the use of established research facilities
• If you are successful with your application, you will be required to complete a project agreement with Sheffield on the terms set out in one of the following two templates (one template is for projects where you are the sole project partner and the second, for where you are the lead partner in a consortium). The project details will be added into the final agreement, but no other amendments will be made to the templates. In submitting your application to us, you agree to these terms.

4. Eligibility

Members of all organisations eligible to receive EPSRC funding may participate in proposals, subject to them personally also meeting the EPSRC funding requirements. Note that the EPSRC’s Repeatedly Unsuccessful Applicants policy does not apply to this call. All proposals must have a UKCCSRC academic member as the Principal Investigator (see membership requirements) and individual UKCCSRC members can be PI in no more than one proposal.

UKCCSRC ECR members are also eligible to apply to this call. UKCCSRC ECR eligibility (see membership criteria) includes PhD students studying CCS and early career research staff based at UK universities that meet the (non-technical) conditions for eligibility for the EPSRC first grant scheme. See here for UKCCSRC ECR eligibility.

Application submission process and assessment criteria

5. Application submission process
6. Co-funding, industrial support and collaboration
7. Application assessment process

Proposals will need to be submitted via the UKCCSRC website with all relevant documentation attached (please click icons below for relevant call as these criteria are different for the £10k awards and the £30/£50k awards).

8. Expected grant duration

Grants will be expected to run for a period from 3 months up to a maximum of 9 months.

All approved proposals should be able to start no later than 1^st October 2022.  Any grants that are not making progress as planned by this date, or at any time subsequently, will have their funding allocation reviewed and may be withdrawn.

All approved proposals must end by 30^th June 2023 in order to meet the objectives of the funding call. There will be no extensions past this point under any circumstances.

9. Additional documentation 

UKCCSRC Equality Impact Assessment Form

Contacts

If you have any questions about the UKCCSRC 2022 Funding Call please get in touch with Carys Blunt, Centre and Finance Manager on carys@ukccsrc.ac.uk or 0114 2157228.

The PI and Co-Is of the UKCCSRC grant are not acting as contact points for this call and will not be involved in the handling or review of received applications.